


Attention

by Wulferious



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Meddlesome Leia, Post Empire Strikes Back, Pre Return of the Jedi, confidence issues, original trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 13:39:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13055100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wulferious/pseuds/Wulferious
Summary: Being the best friend of Princess Leia Organa had its perks, but they were at times all outweighed by a few flaws: she was the one that always got the attention, and her meddling did not help one bit.





	Attention

You were lucky that the main rebel ship had at least somewhat of a Cantina. It was nice to kick back and have a nice time listening to music every once and awhile, even in such dire times. You let out a satisfied sigh as you sat at comfortably on a stool at the bar, nursing a non-alcoholic drink. A pilot like yourself always needed to be alert, and that meant staying sober in case the alliance needed you in your X-Wing. The melody of a new song reached your ears, and someone moved to sit next to you. She ordered a Coruscant Martini- something so strong you wouldn’t even hope to have yourself. As soon as it was slid along the counter and into her grip, she took a long sip of the luminescent drink. While you watched her with wide eyes, she turned to you quickly. She didn’t even seem phased by it. Leia Organa was quite the heavyweight.

“Evening, Y/N,” Leia greeted, turning toward you, placing an elbow on the bar counter, and resting her head in her palm. 

“Hello, Leia. What brings you here?” You ask. Leia was almost always busy but somehow managed to make time for you, despite the fact that you always thought you were never worth it.

“I got some time off and I thought I would come spend some time with you.” Leia smiled genuinely, taking another sip of her drink.

“Time off? Jeez, everyone seems to think we’re so far away from the Empire that I’ve seen more people filing in and out here than ever.” You roll your eyes at the notice of your own hypocrisy. You weren’t drinking but were just as guilty of hanging around and doing nothing.

“Well, when we’re in space, it’s a little better than having to evacuate everyone if the Empire finds us,” Leia explained, shrugging.

“I guess so.” You turned to your own drink, some of the last Alderaan cherry juice. It had a little bit of a sour kick, so you didn’t feel outcasted in the bar, even if patronage had recently begun to dwindle into the single digits. 

“Hey, Y/N,” Leia started, and your eyes flicked back to her. “Remember when you and I would sit in the meadow by our school on Alderaan and talk about boys we liked?” 

You laughed. “You mean boys that _you_ liked? That was such a long time ago.” 

“I miss it,” she uttered. You agreed with her silently, you genuinely missed anything to do with Alderaan. “Say, how come you never had a crush on anyone?” She asked, and you slumped your back, tracing a finger over the rim of your glass. 

“I don’t know. Nobody really caught my interest. Besides, everyone preferred you.” 

“That’s not true! Remember Kai?” Leia remarked. She was right, in a way. Kai was a pilot that was part of the same academy class you were. Kai was confident, skilled, and awfully popular with the ladies. He seemed more like a womaniser to you, but Leia was confident in her intuition that he had a crush on you. 

“Kai? Please, he only wanted me because I was the only girl who wouldn’t give him attention,” you added with a chuckle, rolling your eyes at the thought of him. 

Leia shook her head with a laugh. “So,” she started. You knew what she was going to say, “in the spirit of the old days, is there anyone here you like now?” She asked, a grin spreading across her face.

You shrugged, acting uninterested to get her off your back. “I… I don’t know.” _Yes, you did._ Ever since the time Luke saved your hide during the assault on the Death Star, you’ve been entranced by him. He was an amazing pilot and was incredibly sweet. Luke had quite a few conversations with you on Yavin 4 and most recently Hoth. He helped you fix your X-Wing on multiple occasions despite your shyness and insistence that he didn’t need to waste his time on you. It’s been a few weeks since you’d seen him due to his recovery in the medical cruiser, but you’ve heard that he was released earlier in the week.

Luke was confident, and maybe a bit impatient, but you didn’t mind that. You considered him a friend and a reliable comrade, but you wished for something more. However, you weren’t the only person who did, not by a long shot.

“Don’t give me that,” Leia taunted. She narrowed her eyes at you. “I’ve seen the way you look at Luke,” she teased.

You sipped at your cherry juice briefly. “Alright, you’ve figured me out,” you appeased, sighing. “I just… don’t know what to say.” You blushed and looked away from Leia.

“I find it so cute that you’re still so shy. I would have thought you would have become more confident after you became a pilot.” 

You chuckled. “I’m not exactly reinforcing the suave pilot stereotype, am I?” 

Leia shook her head at you. “So, have you thought about telling him?” 

“Y-yeah, but... I don’t know if I could ever approach him like that. He’s a Jedi. I’m just a mediocre pilot.” You say. It was derogatory, you knew, but it felt like the truth. You never thought you would get attention from Luke in the first place, let alone befriend him. Your luck had gotten you this far, no point in spending it trying to win the heart of someone unattainable.

“Don’t say things like that!” Leia exclaimed. “I’m sure Luke would be flattered if you told him how you felt.” She quirked an eyebrow at you, something she did when she knew more about something than you.

“How would you know?” You ask, finishing your drink and frowning at the fact that it was gone. Alderaan cherry juice was hard to come by, especially now. “Luke doesn’t have time for things like that. Besides, he’s leaving for Dagobah again soon. I would never have time to say anything,” you mumbled.

Leia’s eyes turned towards the door, which your back was facing towards. A sly smile appeared on her face. 

“Are you sure?” She asked. You raised both eyebrows at her in confusion.

“Pretty sure…” 

“Then who’s that at the door?” Leia questioned, raising a hand to point past you. 

Swivelling your seat around to look to where Leia was pointing, there Luke was, standing in the doorway, a stunned look on his face. Your heart began to hammer against your chest. Did he hear your conversation? How long had he been standing there?

“C-c-c-commander Skywalker!” You stutter out, thankful that the slight darkness of the bar would keep the blush on your face out of his view. Behind you, Leia erupted into laughter. 

“You’re so shy! That’s adorable!” She exclaimed, hastily finishing her drink and walking out the door, not before patting Luke on the shoulder and whispering something to him. 

Luke eyed Leia for a moment before moving to take her seat beside you. He motioned for a glass of water, then turned to you with an embarassed smile. 

“You didn’t hear any of that, did you?” You ask quietly, trying not to make direct eye contact. 

“I’ve been standing there the whole time,” Luke joked, and chuckled at your reaction; eyes wide and your mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. “I’m just kidding!” 

“You need to stop doing that,” you remark. “One day you’re going to give me a heart attack.” 

Luke laughed. “I’m curious, though,” he propped his elbow on the counter of the bar and balanced his cheek in his hand, “why Leia is such a meddler? I never expected that from someone…”

“Of her stature?” You finish. “Yeah, I know. She’s only done that with me. Not that I can blame her. She thinks I’m lonely.” 

“Why is that?” Luke asks. “You’re a skilled pilot. A lot of people admire you.” 

You looked away from him. You didn’t think anyone admired you. “You must be joking again,” you mumbled. 

“I’m not this time,” Luke said. You could tell he was watching you, feeling him looking you over gave you chills. 

“Just because someone admires you, it doesn’t mean that you’re not lonely,” you explain. “I love Leia to death, but even when we were little kids, she outshined me. She always got all of the attention from boys. Not... that I wanted it then, but even now, when I think I might win someone’s attention over, it turns out that they like her instead and used me to talk to her. I just feel… so… left out, you know? That I was never good enough because Princess Leia was always standing next to me,” you sigh. You pressed your lips together in defeat. You never intended on pouring your heart out in front of Luke. 

Luke took a sip of his water, his eyes still on you. You finally brought your full attention back to him. Even in minimal light, his eyes were bluer than any sky you’ve ever seen. It’s quite difficult for you to not stare. 

“Is there anyone you want attention from now?” He asks. You furrow your eyes a bit. It seemed that he was trying to meddle as well. Perhaps that’s what Leia whispered to him. 

“Uh…” you start nervously. 

Luke only chuckles at you. "You look so nervous, it's alright, I'm your friend, remember?"

You swallow thickly, nodding in disbelief that he would consider _you_ a friend. “Yes… well, I don’t think anyone would say no to that question,” you answer, pulling a half-smile at him. 

Luke shrugged in response. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Do you think the person you want now likes her, too?” Luke’s unsure tone of voice showed that it wasn’t his own question that he was asking. It was Leia’s. A strange, but not an entirely unexpected question. You didn’t want to say anything, but you were in too deep to avoid it. 

“Nearly every man in the Alliance has wanted Leia’s attention in some form,” you admit, flicking your vision to Luke’s lips before you looked back to his eyes. An obvious gesture, maybe, but you couldn't help it. “The one I want attention from is the same way… he could have any rebel he wanted.”

Perhaps that might have been too much to say. Luke was incredibly popular after he single-handedly destroyed the Death Star. He even did it without a targeting computer, which made him all the more admirable. Had he missed his shot, the Alliance would be gone forever. But, he managed to save everyone, even you, _especially you_. Someone who would have thought to sacrifice herself for the cause. You lived to see this day three years later, all because of Luke Skywalker.

Luke smiled sheepishly at you as if he had known the answer to his question before he asked it. Even though Luke was easy to talk to, your nervousness was growing exponentially. You could feel your heartbeat in your ears now, feel the butterflies in your chest, and feel your sweaty hands that somehow made their way in between your knees in the time before Luke sat down. 

“I….” you stutter, quickly dropping down from your stool and securing your feet on the floor, “I, um… I think I said too much, I’m sorry. I should go. I don’t want you to play along with Leia’s game against your will.” You hopped down from your seat, turned toward the door and started down the hallway. For once Leia’s meddling had gone too far. She had tried to set you up with other rebels before, but she had never involved them as much as Luke. Luke was the hero of the Rebel Alliance, and you were right: he could have _any_ rebel he wanted. 

“Y/N, wait!” You heard him call you, but you ignored it. He’ll be better off. 

Luke could pursue someone that was prettier than you, braver than you, smarter than you, less nervous than you. Why would he pick a lowly pilot who only survived the assault on the Death Star because he came in and shot the TIE fighter that was trailing behind you while you were a bumbling mess? You had gotten down the second corridor towards your quarters before your wrist was grabbed. You turned around. Luke had followed you. 

“I’m not playing Leia’s game,” he confessed, his tone a bit sharper than before. He let go of your wrist and held up his hands but still stayed in a close proximity to make sure you wouldn’t try to run away again. “You said I could have any rebel I wanted. I want _you._ ” 

“Wouldn’t you want someone better?” You mumble, backing up into the wall behind you. Luke stepped to face you more forwardly. 

“Why are you so self-deprecating?” Luke asked, and you looked up into his eyes. It was a genuine question. You fought back tears, heart still pounding in your ears. You had come to expect that everyone preferred Leia. Preferred anyone but you. Finally being face-to-face with someone that seemed to return your feelings was too much. It was too good to be true. A wrenching feeling in your chest returned, leaving you with stuttering breath and struggling to keep eye contact with Luke.

“Because I’m not good enough for a hero. Why choose me when someone more confident would be better? Why choose me after Leia stole a kiss from you? Why choose a barely capable pilot when -” 

You were silenced by Luke’s lips meeting with yours. It wasn’t rough - but it did surprise you. His lips were chapped, something that must have come with the fact that he grew up on Tatooine. Yet, you didn’t mind. Luke cocked his head to the side slightly as his lips moved against you, one hand moving to the back of your neck and the other secured on your waist. You had no idea where your hands were supposed to go, so your palms were firmly planted against the wall. 

Luke separated from you after a few moments, smiling down at you as you attempted to shift your focus from his lips to his eyes. Both were equally captivating. 

“Now, are you going to stop saying those things about yourself or do I have to kiss you again?” Luke asked, a smile still tugging at his lips. 

“That’s not an idea you want to enforce with me,” you whisper. You still didn’t know where to put your hands but began separating them from the wall, nervously picking at your fingernails until Luke took it upon himself to guide your arms to snake around his back in a hug. “Can… can you kiss me again anyway?” 

“It would be my pleasure.”


End file.
